The present invention relates to a method of inspecting food products and food product inspecting apparatus in general, and in particular to a method and an apparatus for detecting and segregating defective food products from acceptable food products. Still more particularly, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for inspecting peach halves and the like and segregating therefrom peach halves containing pits or pit fragments.
At the present time the task of inspecting peach halves for pits and pit fragments prior to canning in commercial canneries involves the employment of inspection personnel. The personnel involved are typically female personnel who stand shoulder-to-shoulder alongside of a conveyor belt on which the peach halves are transported cup-up. The term cup-up refers to the position of the pit cavity relative to the remainder of the peach half as it is being transported.
As the peach halves pass the inspecting personnel, the halves containing pits or pit fragments are removed from the conveyor belt by hand and placed on another conveyor belt or in a container for reprocessing.
In a typical production line, approximately 8 to 10 women (or men) are required to inspect as much as 10 tons of peach halves an hour. At present labor rates, the cost of this labor alone in a typical commercial cannery may range between $100,000 to $300,000 each season.
In addition to being costly, the task of visually inspecting tons of peach halves hour after hour is also tedious and not infrequently, despite the number of inspectors on a given inspection line, peach halves containing pit fragments are overlooked.
As is well known, a peach pit is generally almond-shaped and hard and has a rough, irregular surface. On occasion, during the pitting process, sharp pieces of the surface are chipped off as by the cutting blades which cut the peaches into halves. These pieces may remain in the peach half and may be as small as 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. Because of their small size and because they frequently come from the girth or equatorial portion of the pit, they often are buried or hidden from view in the reddish fleshy portion of the peach forming the edge of the cup. When eaten, such pieces may cause serious injuries because of their sharp cutting edges and hence are of considerable concern to those in the commercial canning industry.